Allied Fence

Melody was extremely rude and unprofessional. Prior to my putting down a deposit on the fence I had explained to her that I was in need of work done quickly as my fence had blown down and I have dogs and small children, making a fence necessary. She assured me that she would have the work done within the week. She said that as soon as I received my permit she would put the job on the schedule. I received my permit and emailed her a copy the same day and requested my appointment. She failed to respond to my email so I called her before close of business and left a message also requesting to set up an appointment. I didn't hear back from her that Friday, nor did she respond to my email over the weekend. I called again first thing Monday morning and left a message, again to no response. On Tuesday evening I called once more and she actually answered the phone. When I voiced my frustrations over her not responding, she said she was very busy and that I was not her only client. She continuously cut me off and spoke over me while I was trying to have a conversation with her. While I fully understand that she has other contracts, I do not believe that it is too much to ask for a business owner to be able to set up an appointment for a paying client over the course of three full business days. At this point I had requested that she refund my deposit so that I could use a different contractor who could manage to return my emails/phone calls and who could find the time to put my work on their schedule. She claimed that I would have to pay a 25% fee for breaking the contract for work, even though at this point she still has yet to send the electrical inspectors out to my home OR pencil me in for an actual appointment date. We decided to stick with her company as losing $500 over her lack of customer service wasn't really worth it. She said that she would send the electrical inspectors out to our home and to let her know once the flags were in the yard so she could set our installation date. The next day the inspectors came out and I immediately emailed melody to let her know it was done and to request, for a fourth time, an appointment date. After four business days (and a weekend) of no response I called her yet again and she set the appointment. Upon completion of the fence I had set up the final inspection from the county to ensure that all of the work was done properly and within county regulations. This appointment was 48 hours after the fence had been installed. I intended on paying my remaining balance after the inspection as I wanted to be sure everything was done properly. Melody charged my debit card anyway, without prior notification and without even informing me that my card would be kept on file. I at no point have given any authorization for my card to be left on file or for her to make any transactions, with exception of my deposit. While the subcontractor she works with did an amazing job setting up our fence, I would NEVER use or reccommend Superior Fence Corporation (aka Allied Fence) to anyone. I would much rather have paid more to not have to deal with this woman. In my opinion she is an incompetent business owner who does not care about her reputation or the satisfaction of her clients as long as she gets your money. While other fence companies in the area might charge a couple hundred dollars more for the fence, I would suggest you take that hit and go with them just for the sake of not having to use Melody as your only point of contact. It will be well worth it in the long run.

Here's what really impressed me. I submitted my paperwork to the development's association on April 6 with the intent of completing the fence project before the end of April so I could move my garden in time to plant. My response was actually supposed to be back to me by April 11-12 according to the property manager but the management service, Lieberman Management Services, sat on it. On Friday April 26th the property manager told me I was good to go and should have been notified 2 weeks earlier. I was very upset since I'd been calling LMS almost daily since the 14th and knowing the season meant a full schedule for most contractors figured the project would most likely be completed at the end of May. When I called Allied however the company owners Abel and Melody committed to being at my house on Monday the 29th of April. When I told them I had some schedule conflicts getting my daughter to school that morning they were very accommodating and showed up a little earlier than planned. They went to work with precision (like they've done this sort of thing before) and completed the installation by 3 PM! As I mentioned they did a great job and cleaned up after themselves as well as taking some of the yard waste I created. They were very courteous and they made sure I was happy when they left! I recommend Allied to anyone looking for quality work and a high level of customer service and satisfaction!

The quote process was great. Melody came out on short notice and provided a quote immediately after walking the proposed fence line. This was our fourth quote so we had already been through the process several times. Melody provided a quote at a fair price, and seemed very concerened with ensuring we were getting the fence we wanted. During our discussion I asked about how long it would take from agreement to finsihed fence. I was told it would not be more than 2 weeks. We agreed on the fence that day 4/9/2011 and provided a cash deposit for 50% of the proposed fence. So far so good. The communication from Allied Fence after this date was terrible. Phone calls and e-mails were completely ignored. Although there were several bad weather days and a glitch with the permit causing several days of delay. It was a full month from the agreement before Allied Fence showed up to install our fence. There was very little if any communciation from Allied Fence during this month long period. I was able to get a hold of Melody on May 4th. I was told if they did not start our fence that Friday they would be there the following Monday. I adjusted my schedule to work from home so I could be there during the installation. The installers showed up at 4pm on Monday May 9th. I was told when the installers got there they would string out the fence line to gain approval before starting. They did string the fence line, but they started immediately without any approval. Due to a zoning ordinance the fence line had to be moved from our agreed line and the new fence line ran right through a large pine tree. The installer cut branches off this tree before I could review the new fence line. I now have a 30 foot pine tree missing the bottom 5 feet of branches on one side. The installers spent the next 2 hours digging post holes. After all the post holes were done they informed us they would be back at 9:00 the next morning to continue the install. And they showed up at 7:30 the next morning! I left that day for a business trip and did not return until late saturday. My wife examined the fence and found many split boards and several issues with posts. One of the posts is literally rotting from the inside out. You can poke your finger into the soft tissue at the center of the post through a hole on the side. Allied was given the opportunity to resolve these issues. They showed up with no notification and replaced some of the boards but explained that unless the post breaks they will not replace it. This post is rotting from the inside out. We have given them ample opportunity to resolve these issues but they have failed to act. So currently we have a rotting post, 2 rails with deep splits and one of the boards the gate is attached to splitting in 2 places.